Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Johnson & Johnson said its experimental anti-epilepsy drug carisbamate failed to gain approval from U.S. regulators.

J&J was seeking to market the treatment, known as Comfyde, to patients 16 years of age and older as a companion to existing medications, the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company said today in a statement.

The global market for anti-epileptic drugs in 2008 was $16.9 billion, according to IMS Health, a Norwalk, Connecticut company that tracks prescriptions. Topamax, J&J’s currently marketed anti-epileptic, had $2.7 billion in 2008 sales, according to data complied by Bloomberg.

J&J is reviewing the letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and will respond as quickly as possible, according to the statement. The company won’t comment further, Tricia Geoghegan, a spokeswoman for J&J, said in a telephone interview.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Waters in San Francisco at rwaters5@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 21, 2009 17:57 EDT